


to be, or not to be

by hyunchans



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Blood, Blood Kink, Claws, Cliffhanger, Dark fic, Fantasy elements, Gore, Gumiho - Freeform, Horror Elements, Implied Anxiety, M/M, Nine tailed fox, No-one dies, Pain Kink, Smut, choking - kink, depictions of violence, fangs, hyunjin and felix are twins, inhuman body transformations, mildly happy ending, nine tailed fox au, past chanlix - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:40:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25602952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hyunchans/pseuds/hyunchans
Summary: minho majors in folklore and religion at university. during his summer break before his final year,  he decides to put all his knowledge to the test and try to find himself a real-life gumiho. when he runs into chan, minho soon discovers that things are a bit more real than he's ready to deal with and that everything he's researched may not help him out in the end.
Relationships: Bang Chan/Lee Minho | Lee Know
Comments: 11
Kudos: 54
Collections: Summer Solstice 2020





	to be, or not to be

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheSwingbyJeanHonoreFragonard](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSwingbyJeanHonoreFragonard/gifts).



> hi! this piece is a gift in the skz summer solstice fic exchange! please check out the collection for the other participants work and support them - we have all worked very hard on these and it means a lot to us to have participated on this exchange.
> 
> in light of recent events on twitter, there are a few things i'd like to discuss before the fic begins:
> 
> 1: i'd like to urge you to double, even triple check the tags before commencing this piece as it is on the darker side and includes content that is not for everyone whether this is specific triggers or just content in general people may not want to consume.  
> 2: i'd also like to remind you that these characters are not a real representation or depiction of how i view the boys in real life - this is a work of fiction.  
> 3: i cannot stress this enough, if at any point you do not feel comfortable reading PLEASE stop reading and exit out of the fic. if you read the tags and feel like this isn't your cup of tea that is more than okay and i urge you to exit out also.
> 
> [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEzWqUhnbVA) is some ambient music i think may help enhance your experience with this fic if you enjoy having music playing in the background. this is also what i listened to whilst writing this fic too.

_“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.”_

H.P. Lovecraft

**☽** **☾**

_Its existence is envied by some, but don’t forget – the gumiho’s existence to itself is nothing more than a cruel curse._

Everything in Minho’s entire university degree had finally led up to this moment. He was finally sitting in class at his last lecture for the semester, and it was centred around the very creature that had consumed Minho’s own existence for the past six years. Everyone knew the stories about the gumiho, the cunning nine-tailed fox that kills humans and eats their hearts for an eternity. Minho had always been fascinated in the occult, and thought the only logical university degree he could do would be a major in folklore and religion. 

_These tricksters have the supernatural ability of shapeshifting and for thousands of years history would tell you that the gumiho would usually take the form of a beautiful young woman. In recent years however, there has been an increase in exhumed texts and documents from newly found historical sites that stated that on rare occasions, the gumiho would take the seductive appearance of a youthful young man._

Minho had always believed in the supernatural, in the myths and folk stories his grandmother would tell him when he was younger. Minho believed that if there were such stories to tell in the first place, then there must be some truth in the grand scheme of things. For most of his high school years he couldn’t concentrate on his compulsory classes and tended to spend hours after school searching the internet for more information on strange creatures and spooky stories. It’s how he ended up with three folders worth of information on the gumiho, consisting of traditional stories and strange police reports and murders that seemed to fit the gumiho’s way of killing.

_As you may all know, through stories you heard as children there are ways that a gumiho could supposedly turn into a human for good and break their curse._

Next year would be his last year at the university, and the final task before graduating was to provide a thesis on any aspect of folklore they were interested in; whether that is a folktale, supernatural creature or ancient deity and conduct extensive research on the chosen topic. Minho already had years and years of research on the gumiho so he thought, why not use this interest and his own research towards his degree. It would save him a lot of time, and if Minho was being honest with himself, nothing gave him quite the same rush as the tales of the gumiho.

_The first being, the gumiho must refrain from killing and eating humans for one thousand days. During this time the gumiho would have flu-like symptoms, and be incredibly weak. They cannot die from this and afterall it has never been proven to work as many of the stories say that after one hundred days most gumiho gave up and carried out their curse._

His best friend, Hwang Hyunjin, worked at the local police precinct. At a recent hang out, Hyunjin had confided in Minho of some strange stuff that had been occurring in Chuncheon, a place only an hour from where they lived.

_The second being, that if a person were to find out about the gumiho’s identity they must tell no one of its secret for the next ten years. Most who found out about the gumiho’s true form were murdered by the creature, so not many can attest that this method was a very accurate one either._

Hyunjin had called him last night, wondering if it was alright if he picked his brain over a certain expertise of his. Hyunjin had a hunch that a killer was out there, and using the gumiho tale as inspiration for his kills. It should have scared the living shit out of Minho, but that side of him that believed in the occult, in folktales, the supernatural, saw this as an opportunity – a way to possibly find a real-life gumiho.

_The third and last one is that over a period of one hundred days, the gumiho must not reveal its true form to a human, take no human or animal lives and must help anyone it comes across that is in need of aid. Failure to do so, and the gumiho loses any chance of becoming a human and will remain a demon for the following one thousand years._

Soon enough the lecture was over and Minho was packing his satchel together, eager to get home and add this lecture into his folders that he had at home. He was halfway across campus to the usual bus stop he caught his bus from when his phone began to vibrate in his pant pocket. He looked at the screen and saw the familiar nickname fill the screen – Hyunee.

“Oh, what’s up?” Minho says down the line. He can make out the familiar sounds of the precinct, in particular the kettle that shrilled loudly whenever someone dared to boil water in it.

“Not much, just wondering if I’m still allowed to come over tonight for dinner?” his younger friend asked. Minho let a laugh slip between his lips, reminded of the last time Hyunjin had come over for dinner. The police officer showed up tipsy from the work drinks he had beforehand, and spilt ramen all over Minho’s carpet, leaving him with a hefty carpet cleaning bill. Hyunjin paid for it but it still stunk like old, stale noodles for days until the carpet cleaning company were able to make time to come and fix it up.

Hyunjin always worried, whereas Minho didn’t ever think too much over trivial or even non trivial things, it is what made their friendship so simple and easy to maintain over the years. The pair first met in middle school, and fostered a budding friendship right up until Minho graduated high school. He was a couple years older than Hyunjin, and given his first steps into adulthood came a lot sooner than Hyunjin’s, he found himself in some sticky situations that Hyunjin either couldn’t relate to or didn’t want to know about until the time came for it himself. The pair became distant until Minho enrolled in university, and Hyunjin had passed his police exam. After the two reconnected and talked about their troubles, they met at least a couple of times a week when they could make the time. It was simple, it was easy, it was so _Minho._

“…Yeah, unless you have somewhere better to be.”

“Never!” Hyunjin shouted so loudly into the phone that Minho’s ear rang from the sharp and sudden change in volume.

“Mmm okay, hey you’re still going to bring your laptop over right… for the case?” Minho asked.

“Yes, but remember… it’s a _secret,_ there is no official case as of yet. _”_ Hyunjin whisper shouted down the phone, causing Minho’s eardrums to throb from the sudden noise.

“Got it boss, see ya later tonight then?” Minho joked as the bus pulled up and he scanned his bus ticket, taking his usual seat at the back right corner.

“Later hyung, safe travels home.”

 **☽** **☾**

_He was furious, he could feel his anger pulsing through his veins, through every nerve in his human body form. He so badly wanted to shed himself of the stupid human façade, to let his true form break through and wreak mayhem on the small island he had been so careful on the past six months. He had been so careful, so careful with every kill to not get caught, to cover his tracks just right. He thought he had a proper shot at a normal human life for the next few years when he met Felix. A couple of years of fucking around with a beautiful man, not having to worry so much about the killing and the coverups. If he had Felix then he could absorb his energy without him even knowing._

_Beautiful was Felix; Felix who relished in everything that he thought Chan was, unbeknownst of the evil that ran through his veins. It’s why what Chan was about to do was going to hurt him so much, but also why he was going to enjoy it. He was careful to be shrouded in the darkness as he followed Felix home to his hut he had been renting on the island. He watched as Felix entered the front door, carefully locking it shut behind him._

_If Felix truly knew then Chan just hopes he hasn’t told anyone yet. Chan really didn’t know if he could spend so much energy covering up one or two or three more bodies. Felix was lucky it wasn’t the full moon and that Chan wasn’t at his strongest, otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to hold back if he wanted to, and the beast within would surely have no mercy._

_Chan crept up to the door, letting one of his claws slice through his finger and placing it to the key hole. He carefully jerked his claw around until he heard a satisfying click and the door silently opened. He slunk inside, taking in the surroundings that were once so familiar to him. Chan took no chances at looking at the framed picture of Felix and his twin brother on the dresser in the hallway. Chan knew how much the brothers meant to each other, and he couldn’t back down now. Not if Felix knew._

_There would be no mercy, he promised himself._

_Chan stood in the doorway of Felix’s room, Felix’s back to him as he faced out the window. Chan could see his eyes on him through the reflection on the window, that he was unblinking as he took in Chan’s presence. Chan noticed his hand trembling underneath the too long coat he wore. Such small, dainty hands._

_“It’s true… it’s really you,” Felix whispered and it is as though all the air had been sucked out of the dark bedroom illuminated by the dim moonlight._

_“It is,” Chan whispered back, taking his time across the room to stand directly behind Felix. He raised his hands, his hands where every single claw had now replaced each finger. He placed one hand on Felix’s shoulder, feeling him shudder underneath the touch. Felix took in the sight of the claws in the reflection, and it took everything in him not to swat them away, and anger Chan any further. If that is what the emotion even was – anger. At this point it was all so confusing, and Chan was starting to blur at the edges. Chan placed his other hand against Felix’s head, threading his claws through his hair and clipping away a few strands as he did so._

_“How’d you figure it out ‘lix?” Chan asked him. He didn’t even think Felix would answer, any sane human would know they were going to meet their demise in a moment like this and there would be no need. They’d at least lie, but Felix, he decided to speak the truth. It was unpredictable, but again, Felix had promised to surprise him until the end of time._

_“I knew the moment I approached you in the restaurant. You think you’re great at hiding Chan but you’re really not, it only took two dates to fully confirm whether or not my suspicions are correct.”_

_“Tell me Chan, why did you kill them all?”_

_“Gotta survive ‘Lix. Only to survive,” Chan said._

_Felix looked bewildered. “What do you mean survive? How can you survive from fucking killing someone?” the words hissed out of Felix’s mouth, and Chan thought he sounded like more of a fox demon than he did._

_Chan laughed. He flexed his claws in the reflection and Felix forced himself to look away._

_“You tell me… You think these are fake?” Chan asked._

_“Course they are, I don’t know how you’re doing it but-“ Felix forced back a gasp as the claws morphed into human fingers, and back into those long, sharp weapons._

_“N-No, that’s n-not,”Felix began, “-that is not possible.”_

_Chan shook his head, unable to look at Felix’s reflection all of a sudden. What the fuck was he doing here, taunting him. He came here to kill him, not play with his food._

_“It is ‘lix. And so if you knew I was the killer why did you pursue me? Why have we been sleeping together, been dating the past three months?” Chan’s voice broke through air, the temperature in the room rising as he did too._

_“I fell in love, I-I thought-“_

_“You thought?” Chan drawled._

_“I thought I could help,” Felix cried._

_“Pretty fucked-up to fall for a so called serial killer honey,” Chan whispered in his ear. Felix forced himself to bring his eyes back to the window, to look at Chan’s changing figure._

_“You can’t help, could NEVER help. It’s a curse for a reason ‘lix.” Chan eased up his grip on Felix’s shoulder, noticing how his claws had sliced through the fabric. The skin that poked through the hole seeped blood from shallow cuts that Chan had inflicted unknowingly. He strode painfully slow around Felix so he was finally facing him. Felix however, couldn’t seem to look him in the eye, let alone be face to face._

_“You know I would say I’m sorry but because of who I am…”_

_Felix lifted his chin and raised his eyes , the tears glittering in them almost breaking Chan’s soul in two._

_Almost._

_“…and what I am-” Chan’s breath was barely less than a whisper to Felix’s ears, “but betrayal is the very thing that keeps me alive, what keeps this curse coursing through my veins.”_

_“I-I don’t know what it is you are C-Chan, but there must be something I can do to h-help. I-I promise I won’t say a word to anyone. Please, p-please trust me.” Felix was pleading for his life, unashamedly as he dared to hold eye contact with the man he had fallen in love with._

_Chan leant in and licked a slow stripe up Felix’s neck and the young man flinched. Chan could smell the tears that began to stream down his cheeks._

_“If you’re going to kill me just fucking do it already,” Felix sobbed. He was holding onto his last string of hope as he wrapped his arms around Chan’s neck, daring to hold his face in his hands._

_“Chan s-show me that you can change, I know you can.” Felix began to beg. Felix’s eyes suddenly held his with such force that Chan could see his own reflection in the glassy haze that glazed over them. Chan never liked it when they started to beg._

_“C-Channie please, show me mercy.” Felix trembled as he met Chan’s lips with his own, and Chan could taste the saltiness of the tears that had been seeping over them._

_It tugged at the heartstrings he unfortunately still had, that he had tried so badly tried to ignore; a reminder of the softness he was capable of. But that wasn’t who Chan really was, it was just another reminder of the curse he had to endure for the rest of eternity._

_“’Lix I wish I could,” Chan spoke against his lips. Felix’s eyes clenched as his sobs began to grow louder, and he held on tightly to Chan’s body._

**☽** **☾**

The beer fizzed as Hyunjin cracked open two cans for both him and Minho. They sat on Minho’s couch, television playing old music videos at a low volume in the background, with snacks placed on the cushions between them. Minho had Hyunjin’s work laptop on his lap and Hyunjin was working his way through Minho’s gumiho folders.

“I’m so glad you have this shit hyung. The weird disappearances happening on Nami seems to follow these old folktales, I’m wondering if someone is using them as their motive or reason to do all this.”

Hyunjin was right, they were indeed… weird. Six people had gone missing in Chuncheon the past six months, their bodies being found slowly and horribly by poor members of the public. The last couple of missing persons reports had been filed from Nami Island, the popular tourist centre just off the coast. Minho remembers Hyunjin sending off his brother there a few months ago to get some inside information, and his brother had been more than willing to go – something about wanting a break from the world and it was the perfect opportunity.

“You know you’d make a pretty good detective Min’,” Hyunjin said as he looked through Minho’s endless research.

Minho laughed, “you should see the pin board in my bedroom.”

Hyunjin smacked his knee, almost sending their snacks flying.

“This place is so strange hyung…You know my brother; Felix I was telling you about?” Hyunjin spoke through his gulps of beer.

“Yeah, your twin, right? I always thought twins were supposed to be identical…” Minho wondered out loud.

“No not always… but as you know he went there a couple months ago and had said he had found something suspicious but never actually told me what. He hasn’t even bothered responding to my calls the past few days…” Hyunjin trailed off, opening up another can of beer.

Minho nodded, signalling for Hyunjin to continue.

“Well,” Hyunjin took a deep breath, “I’m beginning to worry you know, part of me wants to march there right now and demand a reason why but part of me is scared to even step foot in the area.”

“I’m sure he’s fine, but if it makes you feel more at ease… I have nothing to do for the next few months so I could always go check in on him?” Minho offered.

“Are you sure? What about your thesis?”

“My thesis is on the creature that some sicko might be using as inspiration for these murders and missing people, this would be perfect to add in.”

Hyunjin couldn’t exactly disagree, and it would settle his worries over Felix… “how soon can you get there?” he asks. Minho began opening up different tabs on the laptop, searching for cheap deals on transport and accommodation.

“It’s only an hour away so if I really wanted to, I’m prepared to go tomorrow?”

“Shall I help you start packing then?” Hyunjin grinned.

 **☽** **☾**

Minho wheeled one suitcase and a heavy back-pack to his front door, all packed after a few hours of help from Hyunjin.

“I suppose I better get going and let you get a good sleep for your travels,” his friend tells him, the mood suddenly sombre. Minho knew Hyunjin was worried, and that he was trying his best not to let it show too much. Minho agreed and helped Hyunjin gather the things he had brought over this evening. He stood at the door, almost too worried to leave… As they were saying their goodbyes, Hyunjin turned on his heels and enveloped Minho in a tight hug.

“Love you hyung. Thank you for doing this for me,” Hyunjin said as he held him tight. They clung to each other for a moment in the doorway, and Hyunjin still didn’t seem like he was ready to leave.

“I love you too. There’s nothing to worry about Hyunee, nothing at all. I’ll call you when I arrive, promise.”

**☽** **☾**

_Chan sat on the bed as he waited for Felix to wake up. He hadn’t intended on absorbing his essence, but at the last minute he found himself unable to follow through with the irreversible deed of killing him. He had only one choice and that was to give him the kiss, the kiss that had his insides shaking as he pulled out all but some of Felix’s life essence._

_Chan had a lot of time to think as he watched Felix’s chest rise and fall with every shallow breath his body managed to pull in. He’d cleaned the majority of the wounds that had sprung up on Felix’s skin from his claws, and he seemed to be in a stable enough condition, but Chan couldn’t bring himself to leave just yet. He was surprised at how easy it was to satiate the monster within, how quickly it shut up when Chan performed the kiss. He gently held Felix’s hand as he began to stir, the bed consequently shifting underneath them. When he opened his eyes, he struggled to focus on Chan who sat before him - on his human form that had re-emerged._

_“I’m not… I’m alive?” he croaked. Chan nodded his head, and Felix began to sit up in the bed. His hands wandered over the wounds that were scattered over his body, fingers recoiling as he touched too close to a sensitive opening on his skin._

_“What did you do to me?” Felix asked, any evidence of the blazing fire in his eyes earlier were long gone. Instead, they were bleak. Darker than the night sky, and most of all – empty._

_“You’re going to need to rest up for the next few days… then I think you should return to Seoul.” Felix cocked his head, an unattainable expression on his face._

_“You’re not going to… keep me here?”_

_“I’m a monster Felix, yes, but that type of monster? I don’t think I’m there quite yet.” Chan spoke softly, the beast inside surprisingly silent. Chan could barely look Felix in the eyes right now, for the shame was growing unbearably strong._

_“You think I’m not going to tell anyone about this?” Felix says, pointing between them, the wounds on his skin._

_Chan shook his head, “Even if you did, I don’t think anyone would be believe you.”_

_Felix was silent, and the silence was overwhelming. Chan didn’t know how much longer the beast would stay quiet, complacent, letting him do what he thought was right for once in his immortal life._

_“Gumiho.”_

_Felix eyes shot up, his neck following and snapping from such a sudden movement. He hissed as he stretched one of the wounds on his neck accidentally and his eyes began to water from the pain._

_“What did you just say?”_

_If words could kill… those words that just slipped from Felix’s lips could have easily stabbed him right through the heart, ending his existence right there if he was mortal._

_“That’s what I am ‘Lix,” Chan said. He was holding his breath and the thoughts in his head were pounding against his skull; he felt so at war with himself that he didn’t even believe that what was happening before him – what HAD happened, was real._

_“Like the stories… I always thought they were just make-believe?”_

_Of course, Felix was confused._

_“The stories are true…”_

_Felix followed him as Chan stood from the bed, taking his place in front of the window and staring up at the moon. Maybe it was his magnetism, or maybe it was curiosity but the action baffled Chan – how Felix was so fearful and now so… what even was this?_

_“It’s my curse,” Chan said._

_He told Felix – everything. And Felix listened. He listened for hours, mainly because he had nowhere else to go but also because he was kind and had compassion. At least, that is what Chan thought it was._

_“If I go back to Seoul, you promise you won’t hurt anyone else?” Felix asked._

_Chan could only shake his head. He couldn’t make a promise like that._

_“Please don’t tell anyone…”_

_“I’ll guard your secret Chan but don’t think I will do anything else. After this I never want to see you again.” Even though he had hardly any energy, and the weight of his words didn’t carry much passion, it still stroked at Chan’s heart and he could feel the beast start to growl in despisal._

_He never could handle rejection in any shape or form. It’s what the beast relied on._

_Chan agreed, and headed towards the door and he could hear Felix start to cry once more._

_He didn’t hesitate when he reached the front door, even making a point of slamming it shut behind him. Chan was a monster, he always broke whatever came into his path. It was only a matter of time before he broke someone else. As he departed from the property, he had one singular fleeting thought as he looked back on the small hut._

_He wishes that Felix never walked into his path of destruction, and he is so sorry that he wouldn’t even be the last one too._

**☽** **☾**

“Hyunee, this place is fucking boiling,” Minho says as he holds his cell phone up to his face. He’d arrived on Nami Island a couple hours ago and finally was able to take a few minutes to facetime his friend.

Hyunjin laughed on the other end of the line, “well that’s Korean summer for you hyung,” he paused, “you settled in?”

Minho jumped onto the double bed in his hotel room, pleasantly surprised at the coolness of the bedsheets. “As settled as one can be,” he trailed off as he took in the surroundings of the room. He had a small bedside table with a landline on the top, a medium sized dresser at the end of the bed which a tv sat on top of. There was an area with a couple of elements he could cook on if he really wanted to, as well as a microwave and kettle.

“It’s surprisingly homey given the size of it,” Minho turned the camera around so he could give Hyunjin a mini tour of the space he was to live in for the next few months.

“Thanks again Hyung,” Hyunjin smiled at him through the screen.

“It’s no problem at all. Remember it is sort of like a mini holiday and thesis writing trip all in one,” Minho said back. The pair rattled on about what they had planned for the rest of their days until Hyunjin finally had to get back to being productive at work. After they had said their goodbyes, Minho spent some time unpacking his belongings. Although the hotel wasn’t exactly expensive or that fancy, Minho was surprised to find it had one of those small safes that some hotels kept in every room; one of the ones where you could store personal precious belongings and be the only one to know the code. Minho felt like he was in a movie when he took his research and put it securely in the safe, and it gave him a little thrill to think someone might find his research important enough to break in and steal.

“C’mon Minho, get it together.” He told himself as he finished putting his items away, eventually collapsing onto the bed, sweating from the summer heat that had blanketed the room. He was left with his thoughts, too tired to bother turning on the tv. Nami Island seemed like the perfect place for a gumiho to live. The island was actually formed in the shape of the crescent moon, and according to tourist’s post he had seen online the moonlight here was unimaginable. If anything turned out to be remotely true, Minho decided right then and there he would be _furious._ How could this mysterious creature one, be real, and two, only reside an hour away?

Minho had to remind himself to be somewhat logical, following Hyunjin’s footsteps and consider the fact the most real explanation for the missing people and murders was a copycat creep. But Minho had a feeling that Nami Island hosted something more, something darker than what the public and police suspected.

**☽** **☾**

It was the next day and Minho was eager to get caffeinated from something other than the cheap coffee sachets that had come as complimentary room service. He slept awfully; his dreams plagued with nightmarish images of a forest and fox creatures – he could only guess it was his subconscious picking up on his interest in the gumiho and the reason for his being in Nami.

He wandered down the streets and glanced at the watch wrapped around his wrist – 10:05am. He’d slept in later before, but something about the excitement and the summer heat was making him feel groggy, more tired than he actually was. Or _maybe,_ it was the fox that chased him through the forest in his dreams, followed by a strange voice that seemed to ring in his ears long after he woke up.

On Nami, there were endless options for food and drink. It was a tourist destination after all, and despite it being small but not _too_ small, there seemed to be more options than what he was used to in Seoul – the birthplace of unlimited options.

Minho finally entered a small restaurant and settled into a table with a fan blowing near it. The worker came over to him and took his order; iced americano and cold noodles. It was the perfect summer breakfast and Minho was in dire need of cooling down. There weren’t many others in the restaurant. There was a couple in the back corner canoodling, an elderly couple bickering near the front, and lastly a young man a few tables down from him picking at the food in front of him.

The young man had sleek black hair that fell over his forehead and had that signature wet look that was extremely trendy these days. Minho could see that his jawline was prominent and his cheekbones were incredibly smooth. The man looked up, capturing Minho’s gaze and Minho has never felt such a force in his lifetime. The heaviness that came with being looked at by the young man was to point of being weighed down in his seat, he couldn’t tear his eyes away nor move. There was something strange about him, about the way he looked at Minho so comically when he dropped his chopsticks after realising how long they had been staring at one another. That’s when the young man smirked, and turned his gaze back to his food in front of him. Minho let out a breath he hadn’t been aware that he was holding, feeling sweat prickle at the back of his neck despite the fan and cold cuisine in front of him. He began to fan himself with his free hand while he ate, though it didn’t do much. The whole time he could both feel and see the young man’s gaze linger over him and Minho couldn’t place why it felt so magnetic. Maybe it was just the heat, _surely_ it was the heat.

Either that or Minho was about to suffer from a really bad bout of heat stroke. He finished his meal, and sent off a text to Hyunjin, asking him if there was anywhere in particular he should check out, or if he should go and check on Felix straight away.

Hyunjin replied and had told him to check out any local hotspots where youths could gather – the younger generation seemed to be the ones being targeted by the gumiho, killer… whoever was responsible for the disappearances.

When Minho paid for his food, stealing a glance at the young man who had been staring at him he felt a piercing cold vibration throttle his body. He shivered, despite the heat and the sweat that had lightly coated his forehead and neck. When he turned his back on the restaurant and began to exit he threw his head over his shoulder for one last look… he doesn’t even know why he did it.

But when his eyes grazed over where the young man was sitting, he was shocked to see him nowhere in sight.

 _Strange_ , Minho thought.

_Very strange._

**☽** **☾**

The makeshift nightclub was surprisingly better than what the naver article had said it was. The abandoned farmhouse on the edge of the island was the perfect spot for youngsters to go and let loose, escape from the day-to-day adventures and attractions that the island held. It was also the last place Minho had expected to end up this evening. He’d originally headed back to his hotel room but couldn’t shake the feeling of something strange, he couldn’t concentrate on anything and he felt the urge to move his body instead of sitting on the bed overheating for hours. He could also gather some intel if he was really up to it from the youth that would be there – maybe find out something really integral to the unofficial case.

The bass from the speakers vibrated through Minho’s body and he felt the beads of sweat that had been forming on his back soak through his thin t-shirt. The sheer amount of bodies around him, swaying to the music was enough to add more heat to the atmosphere around him and he was suddenly all different types of hot. Minho found himself swaying on the dancefloor, not touching a single drop of alcohol. Sure he was there to let loose, but he also wanted to be sober in case he found out something of importance. For the most part he danced on his own, only brushing past strangers to finally make his way to the bar.

He asked for a water and the bartender gave him a pointed eyebrow raise, disbelief visible as one of the patrons was ordering something other than sickly, sweet alcohol. Minho guzzled back the water in seconds, wiping his mouth dry on the back of his hand.

He moved his way back to the dancefloor, swaying his hips and closing his eyes as he felt the music and the vibrations cosy up against his body. He was in a trance as he danced along to the music when suddenly, he was bought back to reality by a gentle bump against his behind. He spun around and in front of him was a tall, dark haired stranger. Minho looked closely and recognised him as the young man from earlier in the restaurant. As another dancing stranger pushed past them, the drink the young man was holding was poured all over the front of Minho’s top.

“Oh my god I’m so sorry, are you okay?” the young man asked.

Minho smiled, “yeah I’m fine.” A soiled top was the least of his worries, not when he had the full attention of someone as handsome as this stranger. The young man smiled widely and Minho admired the square and very white teeth that were illuminated by the neon lights of the club. The magnetic energy in the air was only heightened by the atmosphere that encompassed the club, and Minho was lost in the strangers twinkling eyes.

“Here, let me help.” The young man placed a hand against Minho’s lower back and lead him to a table at the side of the dancefloor. The young man plucked some serviettes from the centre of the table and began dabbing at Minho’s shirt, but not really taking out any of the stain that had started deepening in the fabric.

“Thank you,” Minho said and the young man held his hand out in front of him.

“I’m Chan, sorry about your top again.” Minho took the hand in his and shook it, politely introducing himself.

“Minho, and it’s fine. Seriously don’t worry about it,” Minho told him. Chan took a seat next to him and began asking him all sorts of questions. What he was doing on Nami, why he was here at this club, what he does for a living.

Minho was intrigued by the inquisitive individual – after all, he hadn’t had anyone’s exclusive attention in this manner in what felt like eons.

Minho answered all that was asked about him and asked his own questions back. He found out Chan was a bit of drifter, moving from place to place due to his job. He was a lyricist, a composer and he worked best in a variety of environments hence why he chose to move around all the time. He said it gave him clarity, that it allows him to constantly self-reflect. Minho couldn’t ignore his attraction to him; he was charming, sweet, and a total gentlemen. As he looked at his phone and noticed the time, he thought it was probably time to call it a night.

“Mind if I walk you home?” Chan asked with a grin.

“Certainly,” Minho accepted. The walk wasn’t very far and a heavy dew rested within the air. It felt heavy, yet Minho felt so light next to Chan despite the lack of intoxication.

It felt like he was in a dream when the young man asked if it was okay to kiss him. It felt like a fever when Minho said _yes_ and their lips came together as one.

**☽** **☾**

It felt like an eternity since Chan had someone underneath him, someone so compliant and willing to let him take control. It didn’t take much after kissing Minho outside the hotel after offering to walk him home from the club, for the time to come when they arrived and Minho invited him inside. Chan had closed the door behind him and Minho led him into the box of a hotel room.

“This is where you’ve been staying?” Chan asked. He ran a finger along the small kitchen space, looking inside the small fridge that sat next to the bench before him. It was packed with food, and Chan couldn’t actually believe this man had chosen to live in a hotel room for a few months.

“Home sweet home,” Minho said as he pulled his socks off to comfortably settle down. Chan kicked his shoes off at the door and collected Minho’s next to his. Minho was busy fiddling around with something in his bedside table when Chan came up next to him. He brushed a hand against Minho’s bare thigh and he keened into the touch. Chan hummed as he laid his hand firmly on his thigh and hoisted them onto the bed. He rubbed circles into Minho’s thighs, drinking in the sounds of the moans that spilled from the younger’s lips.

“This okay?” Chan asked as lightened his touch, drawing circles and dragging his fingers across Minho’s exposed and sinfully soft skin. Minho nodded furiously, reaching out for Chan to come closer.

“I don’t normally do this,” Minho said with his hand wrapped firmly around Chan’s wrist.

Chan raised an eyebrow, “do what?”

“Hook-ups?” Minho chuckled, his adams-apple bobbing visibly.

Chan wanted to devour it. “And?” Chan asked, his voice husky yet shrill – Minho had never heard anything like it.

“J-Just… sorry if I’m bad I guess,” Minho whispered.

Chan smiled as he crawled on top of Minho, closing the distance between them and planting a rough kiss to Minho’s lips. Minho kissed him back with just as much force, lapping up the sweetness that melted against him. Chan’s lips were plump, and had that permanently swollen look that made Minho think about what they’d look like wrapped around his cock.

“You’re perfect,” Chan growled.

He was delighted that they felt a thick as they looked when he kissed him. Chan nipped Minho’s lip as he slipped his tongue in between his lips. The two ground against each other, Minho particularly enjoying the way Chan’s body felt against his. He was firm in all the right places, and knew how to use his strength to his advantage. Minho ran his hands over Chan’s clothed biceps, unravelling at the taught skin. Chan removed his lips from him and dived down in the crook of Minho’s neck where he left the softest of kisses. Minho moaned loudly, overcome by the heat that had settled in the room.

“Still okay?” Chan rasped.

Minho could only hum in response. It was like Chan was his own personal drug, he was intoxicating. Chan rolled his hips against Minho, and let out a noise somewhere between a moan and growl. Minho couldn’t help but getting harder than he already was. He brought Chan’s fingers to his mouth, darting out his tongue to swirl around the slender digits. He took them between his lips and began to suck, Chan’s other hand finding itself loosely wrapped around his neck. Minho positively hummed around Chan’s fingers as he felt them slide down his throat and Chan’s fingernails dug into his skin on his neck.

“You can squeeze if you wanna,” Minho slurred around his fingers.

The glint in Chan’s eyes were unlike the looks of those he’d seen on his past lovers faces when he asked or told them to choke him. He couldn’t place that feral look in his eyes; it reminded him so much of a fox, like the ones that had been in his dreams but that couldn’t be right.

To Chan, it was an invitation for pain- something he so gladly liked dishing out when he let the monster take over. Chan tightened his hand around the sides of Minho’s throat and he began to gag around Chan’s fingers. The older man’s eyes rolled at the sound. Minho felt his cock throbbing painfully against his boxers, precum dripping down his enclosed length. It didn’t take long for Minho to come, humping his crotch against Chan’s thigh as he felt the grip on his neck loosen.

“You’re a little _demon_ ,” Chan cooed at him, pulling his cock out from his pants and pumping it against Minho’s lips. He giggled, and although it hurt his throat he was still feeling so fucking high from the lack of oxygen. It made it so much hotter when Chan spilled himself all over Minho’s face. He placed a finger over his cum, smearing it against the bruises blooming on Minho’s neck.

Minho doesn’t remember cleaning up, or even falling asleep. But when he wakes in the morning with sunshine lighting the room all hues of orange, he is alone; Chan nowhere to be found.

**☽** **☾**

Minho paused as he got to the top of the footpath, double checking he had the right address. The letterbox had a copper number fifteen right on the front so it had to be the place, but there was absolutely no sign of life inside. Minho pocketed his cell-phone and walked to the front door of the hut, the place Felix was supposed to have been staying. Hyunjin had still heard nothing from his twin, so Minho felt indebted to him to at least try and find something, anything that would explain his radio silence.

Minho knocked on the door and when there was no response he debated leaving – maybe Felix just didn’t want to be disturbed or maybe he wasn’t there at all. He turned around, noticed something shuffle in the bushes at the end of the driveway but soon heard something unlatch behind him.

Felix stood behind the door, leaving it cracked up enough to expose half of his face. It was like looking at a ghost.

“Felix?” Minho asked. Felix nodded, eyes averting direct contact.

“I’m Minho, I’m friends with your brother Hyunjin… he’s been worried about you.” Felix stiffened, taking hold of the side of the door to balance himself.

“I’m sorry I’ve been busy, I should have contacted him.”

Something about Felix was off, from the way he was speaking to the way he wouldn’t show himself fully. Minho noticed a strange red line that ran down Felix’s neck, averting his attention and making Felix pull his collar higher.

“At least you’re okay. Do you mind if I-“ Minho motioned inside, hoping to be invited in. Felix’s grip tightened further on the door, and Minho could see a tremor in his lip. Minho paused, trying to read the situation in front of him.

“Felix are you sure-“

“Everything okay here?” Chan’s voice spoke over him. Minho noticed Felix’s eyes dart between them, and the way his fingers were gripping the old wood of the door.

“You must be Felix, my friend here has been looking everywhere for you.” It was strange, the way Felix squirmed as Chan addressed him. It was even stranger that Chan had popped out of nowhere without even having said goodbye last night. But that didn’t matter right now, what mattered was _Felix._

“Like I told Minho, I’m sorry I didn’t contact Hyunjin sooner. I’ll be coming home soon so tell him there is nothing to be worrying about.”

“What about the murders did you find anything out?”

Felix looked at Chan, then back to Minho.

“Nothing, seems like whoever it was must have moved on…”

Minho sighed. So much for any leads or a real life gumiho.

“Well I’m just glad you’re safe,” Minho said while reaching out to place a hand over Felix’s on the door. It was supposed to be a gesture of comfort, but when Minho’s skin connected with the cool and clammy skin of Felix’s something felt utterly wrong.

“I’m not the one you should be worrying about,” Felix whispered, pulling his hand from underneath Minho’s.

The silence that followed was unbearably uncomfortable.

“I’m sorry if we’ve disturbed you, we can leave now…” Minho trailed off, seeking help from Chan next to him. Chan’s eyes were glued to Felix, roaming his body. Minho felt like the life was being sucked out of him. This wasn’t him, he didn’t know why he was feeling so insecure, so sick, so jealous. It’s not like Felix and Chan know each other, and Felix was probably just sick or something – it would explain the weird behaviour.

“That would be nice. Like I said, I have been really busy.” Felix gave Minho a curt nod, not even bothering to look at Chan as they turned away. Chan walked with Minho down the steps, arm securely around his lower back. Minho threw a glance over his shoulder and he could still make out Felix standing, guarded behind the door. He could see something similar to tears glistening in his eyes.

**☽** **☾**

“How did you know where I was?” Minho asked. The two were walking back towards the centre of town and the sounds from bugs in the fields and forest were awfully loud in the summer heat.

“Very blunt, I like that.” Chan grinned as he spoke to Minho, and there it was again – that damn magnetic force between them that seemed to drown out the annoyance that Minho was supposed to be feeling in this moment. The gravel crunched underneath their footsteps as Minho struggled with his words, unsure of how to broach the conversation any further without sounding confrontational. Chan still had his arm around Minho’s back and while he was awfully confused, he couldn’t ignore the part of him that secretly liked the older’s attention and affection.

“I think you mentioned it last night, and honestly there isn’t many huts on the island like what you described… so I was just strolling around when I saw you.” Chan smiled as he addressed Minho, rubbing circles into his back with the palm of his hand. Even Chan could feel the vibrations running through his body due to his aura, and it only added to the heat in the air.

“After last night… I don’t remember you leaving?” Minho halted, Chan shortly suit.

“Huh, that’s weird. You sure you didn’t have anything to drink?” Chan laughed, trying to play it off as naturally as possible. Minho stared back at him, the magnetism subduing any real anger from peaking through, but Minho still stared at him as though he was thoroughly pissed off. It had been awhile since someone had been able to break through the effects of his aura… With Minho it seemed to work in waves.

“If you’d like, I can help you fill in the gaps over coffee?” Chan proposed since it seemed like Minho wasn’t about to be convinced otherwise right now.

Chan was smiling at him, eyes so soft and gentle. There was no way that Minho could possibly say no.

“Lead the way!” Minho exclaimed.

 **☽** **☾**

“Tell me more about this research of yours… on the gumiho?” Chan raised the coffee cup to his lips, sipping the bitter liquid. Coffee had never been a favourite thing of his, but with Minho it seemed like he had to improvise and deal with the disgusting taste to gain his trust.

It was a close call turning up at Felix’s. Chan thought for certain Minho would have brought up the young man’s behaviour when Chan had appeared on the doorstep, but it seems like Minho was keeping any suspicions to himself. Chan both admired it and despised it – or maybe that was just the monster begging for any opportunity to be released. Minho was more interested in why he couldn’t remember what happened last night after they’d been intimate. Chan’s magnetism seemed to be working a bit too well these days – it seemed to work on Minho best when Chan was in any heightened state of mood or feeling.

“You must know the stories? Of the fox demons that would eat the livers and hearts of humans?”

Chan nodded. He raised his hand to his head, scratching his scalp, “The fairy-tale like stories we were told?”

Minho leaned over the table, closer to Chan.

“What if I told you that they might not be just stories,” Minho whispered.

Chan’s free hand that was in his lap suddenly curled into a fist and his claws begged to break through his human form’s fingers. It took all his strength to keep them in, the pain excruciating.

Minho told him all about his research, how he believed there might be an actual gumiho here on the island. Chan was usually not affected by the heat, but right now it was all that he could feel coursing over his body.

_Warmth, heat, anger, fear of being exposed, fear of having to kill, breaking a promise, anger, anger, anger._

Chan _needed_ to get his hands on those files.

**☽** **☾**

_He waited until nightfall, when the moon was at its highest. He relied on the strength the moon gave him, especially if the beast inside him needed to be set free. He watched from afar as Minho locked his door behind him, a slight skip in his step as he wandered down the footpath and away from the hotel room he was calling home. Chan waited a few more minutes, just in case Minho had forgotten something or was only making a brief exit. After ten minutes Chan thought it was the moment to act._

_Now or never._

_He’d perfected the art of picking locks years ago, so it took him less than five seconds to get into Minho’s apartment. The trickiest part was figuring out where the fuck his research was. Chan began pulling apart the room, careful not to let his claws slice through too much – it had to look like a burglary after all. He noticed the safe located inside the bedside table and thought to himself what a strange thing to have in a hotel. It would also make a lot of sense for the folders to be in there if they meant as much as they seemed to Minho…_

_Chan pulled the safe door free in moments, thanks to the beast for lending his human form some its strength._

_Just when he was about to take the folders and leave, he heard the door opening and shuffling behind him. Chan had to let the beast free, he just hoped it would spare Minho. When he let his demon form take over he felt all the muscles in his body cry out from the searing pain. The tiny part of him that was still present as the demon, no, monster, took over heard Minho shriek and fall back against the hotel room door. Chan felt his eyes flame at the sight of him, the want and the desire throbbing as he could see the outline of his heart through his shirt. Chan took a few steps towards him, the beast not caring as he was unrecognisable to the human right now._

_Minho shivered as Chan knelt down in front of him, cocking his head in intrigue._

_“Please don’t kill me,” Minho pleaded._

_Fear was delicious, and Minho’s had to be the tastiest of all._

_Chan felt his body move forward, claws trailing across the floor. When he thought the beast was going to lash out he couldn’t figure out why Minho looked surprised._

_Maybe it was because the beast dumped the files in front of him, and retreated out of the window leaving the younger all alone and terrified over what he had just witnessed._

**☽** **☾**

Minho was still shaking when he finally plucked the courage to move from his spot curled up against the wall.

“You wanted a fucking gumiho Minho, and you certainly got one.” He was talking to himself, stuttering as he pulled out his phone. He was going to call Hyunjin, but he wouldn’t believe him… and he doesn’t blame him. But this was Minho’s area of expertise, he should be using his fear to his advantage. At least now he knows that the Gumiho is in fact real and on Nami Island.

**☽** **☾**

Minho had called Chan later that night after trying to fix the mess that the creature had made of his hotel room. Something was bugging him about the whole situation, the fact that the creature didn’t harm him, and seemed so interested in his research.

How the _fuck_ could it have known about it? Minho was letting his thoughts take over him as he paced the room, replaying the scene in his head over and over again. Why had the Gumiho looked at him like that? Like it _recognised_ him? It sent shivers down his spine. He was just about to pull a bottle of chilled water from the fridge when his arms started to shake, and his pulse started to drop. He felt sick, like he was going to throw up, but a tide of fatigue washed over him and encompassed him, leaving him passing out on the floor of the small kitchen area.

_He was in the forest, and it was dark. The trees looked murky like swamp water as he wandered through them, no RAN through them. Minho ran for miles, over and over again, when suddenly he stopped as two people appeared in the clearing in front of him._

_Was that? Felix? But who was that standing next to him? Their back was turned and when they turned around Minho screamed. It was the Gumiho, its mouth was covered with blood and innards as it hissed at Minho. But then, it smiled? Felix smiled too and suddenly Minho was transported right in between them. The Gumiho smelt Minho, holding Minho’s hand with its razor-sharp claws as Minho tried to struggle free. Felix was holding him in place and Minho couldn’t stop the screams from escaping his throat. The Gumiho laughed and sounded identical to a fox, except one hundred times more demonic. Its lips curled and its teeth dripped spit as it leant down to Minho’s neck, sniffing him further. Minho felt a pull in his stomach, like a thread was being pulled and he was no longer drowning. He blinked and he was back across the clearing. When Minho looked back the Gumiho was gone, instead there stood an identical version of himself. When it looked him in the eyes it winked, and everything around his went blank, swallowing him whole._

When Minho woke from his slumber he was shaking, adrenaline rushing through his veins as he fumbled around for his cell phone. There was only one person he could call that might believe him.

“Chan, how soon can you get here?” he said through the phone.

“I can leave right now,” Chan replied. They hung up, and Minho sat in silence, unsure of what the fuck was happening to him.

**☽** **☾**

Minho shut the hotel room door behind them and by the time he turned around Chan had already made himself comfortable inside of his bed. He held his arms out for Minho, beckoning him towards him.

“Come, get comfy. Tell me what happened.” Chan shuffled over leaning his back up against the headboard as Minho slipped underneath the covers to join him. He hadn’t even bothered to turn on the lights, the moonlight providing them with just enough vision. He sighed as Chan wrapped an arm around his waist, being met by the solid muscle of Chan’s chest as he rested on it.

“A Gumiho was in my fucking room and didn’t try to kill me… then I had this weird dream and… Chan what the fuck does this all mean?” Minho whispered, exasperated as he began to relive the moments in his head.

“I can’t even call the cops… I don’t know what it wants from me, from my files? God, what if it comes back to _kill_ me.”

Chan began to stroke his hair, knowing that he would find the action calming. Chan hoped his magnetism started kicking in soon.

“I believe you Minho, it’s just so weird… how come it let you walk away unscathed? I don’t think it would come back to finish you off if it genuinely left you the first time…” Chan said out loud. Minho didn’t know the answer and assumed he probably _never_ would.

“Who knows…” Minho whispered. He was comfortable in Chan’s arms, they were secure. He felt so drawn to the older that now he had him here he couldn’t possibly imagine him having to get up and leave so soon. Not when he was so terrified of the creature returning. He was so thankful Chan believed, that he didn’t think he was just a crazy folklore student.

“This is very comfy, I don’t think I will want to move any time soon…” Minho said, body relaxing as though he was being put under a spell. “Please stay. I feel safe with you here,” Minho muttered into his chest.

Chan was still stroking his hair, his slender fingers moving at brutally slow pace. Minho felt his other hand take hold of his chin, tilting it upwards as Chan looked him in the eyes, such _lustful_ eyes. Chan leant in first, and Minho was eager to meet him. Their lips connected and soon Minho forgot where he was, who he was, as he let his lips melt away against Chan’s. He pulled away from the kiss for only a second to catch his breath when Chan slipped Minho underneath him. He straddled Minho’s waist, thick and muscular thighs pinning him in place. Minho tried to stretch out, touch something, anything when Chan took his wrists in his hands and lifted them above his head and carefully onto the pillows. Minho let out a devilish moan and Chan drank in the way Minho’s crotch squirmed underneath his own.

“Eager are we?” Chan drawled, leaning forward to pepper kisses across Minho’s lips. “Thought you’d be too terrified to put yourself in a position like this? Or do you secretly like it? The possibility of it returning…” Chan’s voice was low, seductive, and painfully true Minho noticed.

Minho could barely moan, too turned on, too lost in Chan’s spell to form proper words. Chan pulled the shirt from Minho’s torso, taking in the sight before him. He imagined Minho to be fit, but not this fit… not this delicious. Chan began licking stripes across every muscular line he could make out on Minho’s upper body, teeth catching at the hem of Minho’s pants. Minho slipped one of his hands from Chan’s grasp and eagerly began to pull them off, much to Chan’s approval. As Chan took Minho’s hips in his strong hands, Minho decided to turn the tables. Within moments Minho had used his remaining strength to get Chan underneath him, the older surprised that someone could overpower him so easily. Minho put his lips to Chan’s now bare chest, his fingers pulling at his neck. Chan almost froze underneath him. It had been a long time since some dared to even test the waters with him. Chan smirked, breath catching in his throat as Minho replaced his fingers with lips and began nibbling at his neck. Chan was seeing stars, and he had to snap out of it while the full moon was out above them.

He needed to feed.

Chan moved their positions once more, removing his own pants as well as both of their boxers. Minho’s length sprung free and fucking hell - this boy was indeed a five course meal.

Chan growled as Minho bucked his hips up towards him, eager to be touched. Chan shook his head at him, hellishly slow as he returned to his lips to make out with Minho. His lips parted and Chan slipped his tongue through the gap, moving alongside and against the hot muscle inside Minho’s own mouth. When he pulled out his tongue, Minho bit down on his lip, surprising Chan but not for the pain. For the way Minho pulled his lips back and stuck out his tongue, swirling the tip of it across the small cut he had made on his lip. The taste of cigarettes and iron against Minho’s tongue should have repulsed him but in this moment, he couldn’t get enough of it. Chan moaned against Minho’s lips, and something sharp dug into the sides of his ribs. Minho threw his head back, assuming it was just Chan’s fingernails, not the claws that had sprung free from Chan’s arousal. If Chan wasn’t careful, he was going to lose control and he couldn’t just yet… he wasn’t ready. He forced the claws back up, soothing the cuts with the soft flesh of his human fingertips.

“Please, please do something.” Minho was begging, his hand wrapped around his pulsing cock. Chan nudged himself down the bed, darting his tongue out across the tip of it. Minho slurred his words and seemed to fall deeper into the bed and Chan swears he can see his eyes rolling from pure bliss. Chan spat into the palm of his hand and wrapped it around Minho’s cock as he brought two fingers to Minho’s lips. Minho took them in, so deep that he was gagging on Chan’s digits. Chan pulled his fingers free as he kept slowly but surely pumping Minho’s cock. He brought one of his fingers to Minho’s entrance, pushing it gently against the throbbing hole. Minho hissed, and garbled down some incomprehensible words.

“You want it?” Chan asked, stalling his hand and easing up on the pressure around Minho’s cock. Minho nodded his head furiously, reaching out to rub his thumb across Chan’s bloodied lip. Chan pushed his single finger inside, almost coming from the feeling of Minho’s hot insides against his fingers.

“Ah fuck, Chan.” Minho could barely keep his eyes open. He so badly wanted to watch Chan stretch him open, but he was just too turned on, too fucking out of it already to concentrate on one thing for too long. Chan took this as a signal to add a second finger and as he did so Minho thrust down on the fingers so they would reach far deeper. Chan removed his other hand from where it had been slowly working at Minho’s cock and cupped one of his ass cheeks. His fingers brushed against his prostate and Minho felt his body begin to pulse harder, and he swears he could feel the blood pumping through every part of his body.

“One more? Or are you ready?” Minho reached down and pulled a third finger towards his hole, and Chan carefully obliged. His third finger fit perfectly; Minho was opening up for him so well. Chan was daring and slipped a fourth, causing Minho to thrust into them more violently, his own animalistic growl ripping free from his throat. Chan moaned, his cock throbbing as Minho was laid out underneath, their shared arousal making the room feel like a sauna.

“Please, Chan. Please fuck me, I’m ready,” Minho moaned out. His hair was stuck to his forehead from sweat, and his mouth was swollen from all the kissing. If Chan looked hard enough, he could see that his lips were stained with Chan’s blood which only made his hunger ripple through him more.

“Thought you’d never asked,” he whispered. He held onto Minho’s shoulder as he lowered his body against his, one hand dipping down to line himself up. He spat into his hand and rolled his saliva over Minho’s stretched hole. His tip pressed against it and Chan could feel the younger still beneath him as he began to slide himself in. Chan waited for a few moments, letting Minho adjust to his length before he started thrusting into his hole. Minho’s back arched at an inhumane angle and Chan was entranced, he ran his fingers along Minho’s arms as he began to pick up the speed of his thrusts while deepening them until they were brushing right against Minho’s prostate. The moonlight was making Chan drunk from its power and he could feel Minho’s essence begging to be taken. In this moment, it was only him and Minho. Chan’s claws protruded and met with Minho’s skin once more, eliciting the most sinful of sounds to spill from Minho’s lips.

“Fuck Chan, more.” Minho was practically pleading. Chan was fucking confused, he was fucking aroused but god, was he confused.

“You sure?” Chan slurred, lazily fucking into Minho as he tried to contain his building orgasm.

“Yes!” Minho exclaimed as he threw his hands around Chan’s neck. Chan started pounding into Minho with such force it felt like the bed might give out from underneath them. Chan found his lips against Minho’s neck. He held onto Minho’s body as he was relentlessly fucking into him, and he felt his fangs poke through the gums of his canines. He couldn’t let all of them come through, only letting a couple of them manifest their true form. He kissed Minho’s neck, sloppily licking the smooth skin until he landed on the junction between his collarbone and neck dip. Without too much force his fangs pierced the skin, and Minho didn’t even react.

“Chan I’m c-close” he stuttered. Chan kept his rhythm, putting a hand around Minho’s ignored cock. Chan lapped up the blood that was pooling at the wound on Minho’s neck but not before biting harder a second time. Chan could feel his essence hanging in the air, or rather below the surface of the air and out of his reach - released from the opening of a Gumiho bite, only able to be consumed by performing the kiss. Chan rumbled against Minho’s skin as the younger came, coating their chest with sticky white threads. Chan was this close to ripping into the wound and feasting when Minho took his face in his hands and pressed a feverish kiss to Chan’s lips. Chan’s cock was rubbing angrily against his already overstimulated prostate, making his cock ache even further, even though it had already released.

Minho’s tongue darted into Chan’s mouth as he heaved, so fucking close to coming, so close to absorbing Minho. Minho could taste the bitter iron on Chan’s mouth but still didn’t care, in fact, it made him even more fucked out. Chan finally came and released his load onto Minho’s burning walls, and he could feel every single bit that coated them. He stopped pulling at Chan’s lips with his mouth and began to tenderly press kisses to them. He stroked Chan’s hair as he tried to compose himself. Chan broke away from the kiss at the last possible minute, feeling the power that had been bubbling at his lips pull away back into Minho’s body where it belonged. Chan was spent, he was hungry, but he couldn’t bring himself to finish the younger man off. It wasn’t time. And it didn’t feel _right._

“What?” Minho asked, staring at him through his half-closed eyes. Chan cocked his head, unsure of what he was asking.

“What isn’t it time for? What’s not right?” Minho breathed, still coming down from his high. Chan knew he’d be feeling exceptionally tired after some of his essence escaping, it was both a mentally and physically exhausting process.

“Nothing. Nothing silly,” Chan said. He pressed one last, and extremely careful kiss to Minho’s lips.

Minho had absolutely no idea how close he was to the truth, and that the truth was questioning everything once more.

Or maybe Minho knew _exactly_ how close he was, but was too entranced to confront it.

 **☽** **☾**

The next few days were a rush. Minho had forgotten about the Gumiho and instead focused all his attention on Chan. They had not known each other long but there was something so familiar about him that gave him so much comfort. With Chan, it was easy. For the next few days Chan would come over to the hotel room and spend hours talking with him. When they’d had enough of the stuffy hotel room they’d venture outside, taking long leisurely walks around the island, eventually ending back at the hotel room, hauling the covers around each other as they moved underneath the covers. Through late night talks and lots of stolen kisses, Minho found himself falling in love. Chan too. It's as though nothing strange or supernatural had happened at all.

Up until one evening, Minho had fallen asleep after Chan. He remembers Chan nursing the bruise that was blooming on his neck from his mouth. He remembers Chan’s lips against his. He doesn’t remember falling asleep, and he certainly doesn't remember Chan sifting through his researching and finding out his theories on lifting the gumiho curse. 

When he wakes up Chan is nowhere to be found. That’s when a tide of darkness washes over him, very similarly to that night a few evenings ago. Minho struggled to keep his eyes open and eventually had to let them slide shut. As he was drifting off into the strange slumber, he swears he heard someone enter the room, and a familiar set of arms wrap around him.

When Minho woke up, he found he was not in the safety of his hotel room. He was indeed in the middle of the forest and could hear the coast close by; waves lapping gently over the rocks in the boiling summer heat. He stumbled up, tripping over twigs as he tried to gain his balance. He could feel his t-shirt sticking to his skin as it was slick with sweat, and he felt like he was burning up.

“Hello!?” Minho screamed, his scream eventually echoing right back through him. The forest was empty, and he was alone. Minho began to mumble to himself.

_How the fuck did I get here? WHY am I here?_

Nausea was biting at the back of his throat, his stomach was in knots as he wandered through the forest, the forest that was so similar to the one he had been in during his dreams.

_Maybe I’m still in a dream, a lucid dream. Maybe that’s all this is._

A voice broke through his inner monologue, tearing his attention back in front of him.

“It’s time you knew the truth.”

Chan sat on a log in front of him, back turned.

“About what?” Minho asked, taking slow steps towards the older. Chan didn’t turn or move a muscle as Minho approached him on the log – remaining effortlessly still.

“Chan, what the fuck. Why are we here? How are we here?”

“I think you know the answer to that already Min…” Chan’s voice was low and Minho struggled to understand.

“After Felix I thought… Well I don’t really know what I thought. The last thing I was expecting to happen was _you.”_

Minho was reminded of that day at the hut, the day when Felix was visibly hurt and docile when he turned up there. The tension between him and Chan… the way Felix stood in the doorway even when they left. Minho now realised why Felix did that. Part of him wants to apologise, but he doesn’t know yet what for. He doesn’t know the extent of his relationship with Chan and Minho wishes he could punch himself in the face for feeling jealous.

He just feels like that would be the right thing to do.

Minho stared at Chan, his heart thumping in his chest as the older man continued to speak.

“Minho. You feel like home. And that’s why you need to leave. I don’t want to hurt you,” Chan’s voice broke and everything between them was boiling point hot.

“Why would you hurt me?” Minho questioned. It was more of a dare – to see if Chan would stop the pleasantries and just reveal what Minho had suspected in the very back of his mind, that he had tried so hard to ignore.

Chan put a hand over Minho’s on the log and sharp claws lay were his fingers should be.

“I love you, and I _can’t_ hurt you. Please don’t make this harder than it already is,” Chan said. Minho’s eyes watered at the sound of those three words and his throat tightened, a burning sensation settling in and calling itself home. He felt his claws press against the webs of his fingers and the stinging pain that came with it as the claws drew blood.

“Is what you have in your notes really true? You truly think that if you keep my secret for ten years that I have a chance of lifting the curse?”

Minho nodded. He gulped as he moved to straddle Chan, searching for anything in his features that would explain what was racing through his head right now. Chan shivered beneath him, yet the air grew hotter, almost like a bubble surrounding them that refused to pop.

“If you love me back, then you’ll do this for me. Minho there’s no point if you get hurt or worse…” Chan trailed off, his body twisting as he imagined the worst possible outcome of Minho being too close when the beast lost control.

“Chan,” Minho whispered, his lips brushing against the olders, “-I do love you. But do you understand what you’re asking of me? How can you love me yet expect me leave for ten whole fucking years?”

“It’s not that I don’t want you here. It’s just safer that way,” Chan bit back. His breath was sickly sweet against his and Minho swears he could see something orange float through the space between their lips.

“I want you to leave knowing it’s the safest way of being able to maintain what we have without you being caught in the crossfire with what lives inside me.”

Chan sounded like the broken one for once and he hissed at his own words. He’d battled against himself long enough, maybe it was time to give in… to at least try.

Minho kissed him feverishly, letting his hands roam underneath Chan’s shirt, and doesn’t budge when his claws take hold of his small waist and draw red lines across his abdomen.

“Does this not terrify you?”

Minho shook his head.

“I know you have no choice. I love you Chan, I wish that you could accept that.”

Chan gulped, “I do accept it. And I do have a choice. I’ve chosen not to care for so long I don’t know what it feels like to be confident in doing what is right,” Chan managed to will one set of claws back in, and held Minho’s chin as he delved his tongue between Minho’s lips.

“If you want a real shot at love with me, then Minho… you will leave and not come back until its time.”

Minho began to cry, the heat between them crushing any logical thoughts, any rebuttal against Chan’s words.

“I need to feed, and when I tell you to run… Minho you _run._ Don’t look back. Just promise you’ll come back when it is time,” Chan pleaded. His eyes were clenched shut and he held onto Minho tightly.

Minho nodded his head, sobbing as he said yes. Chan pressed one last kiss to his lips, and let his fingers drag down Minho’s spine for one last time when he broke away from him.

Chan looked into his eyes, what was once brown now shining bright red.

“Run.”

And so he did.

Minho ran as he heard the inhumane roar bellow through the forest behind him. He heard the shrieking of forest animals and the rustling of tress in the distance. He ran and ran and did not stop running until he was back at his hotel room. He threw his belongings into his bags messily, didn’t care what state he left the hotel room in.

He didn’t look back when he boarded the last bus back to Seoul, and he didn’t stop himself from crying the whole way home – if that’s what it even was anymore.

**☽** **☾**

_Ten Years Later_

The hut stood dormant, barely looking touched since Minho had last seen it. He stood at the end of the footpath, not sure if his feet were going to let him take a step further. It was night-time and the hut seemed to blend in with the darkness that blanketed the island. If he listened hard enough, he could hear the crashing of waves against the small beach on the island in the far distance.

Chan had told him after he’d left all those years ago that he was going to take over the rental from Felix. It was out of the way and no-one would suspect him of anything. They wouldn’t notice that he didn’t age and remained youthful due to the curse that had been put on him. Minho eventually plucked up the courage to walk down the path, taking hesitant steps onto the doorstep. Part of him was excited to see Chan, to plant a kiss on his lips regardless of knowing what he is. Part of him was also terrified – what if the beast was out, or worse – it was out and _hungry._

Minho was going to knock on the door when he noticed it was already slightly ajar. He pushed the door open with his hand and shuffled inside after calling out Chan’s name. It was eerie. The hut felt cold despite the thirty-degree weather on the island, and everything felt damp – as though Minho was making his way through a fine mist coated in the air. He checked the quaint living room – no sign of Chan there. He was not in the kitchen either so that only left the bedroom to check.

Minho stood in the hallway, something magnetic snapping into place as he heard what sounded like muffled cries coming from the bedroom. Minho raced into the doorway, covering his mouth with his hand as the owner of the noise came into his view. Chan was contorted on the floor, half demon form, half human and he looked pale; his skin slick with sweat. Minho dropped to his knees and crawled towards him; the air piercingly cool. Chan raised his eyes to meet Minho and painfully smiled at him.

“You know, I wasn’t expecting this much pain.” Chan laughed, contorting further as his body rejected such an action. Minho began to shake, his eyes becoming blurry as Chan crawled into his lap, lower half wrapping around his thighs, the nine tail's that protruded from the base of his spine wrapping around Minho's back tightly, encompassing him in somewhat of a hug. Minho didn’t know what he expected and why most of all he thought that Chan would be fine, everything but the mess in front of him.

Today marked ten years since Minho left the island, and in ten minutes time it the clock would strike midnight. The curse would shortly be broken but what if Chan didn’t make it… what if he wasn’t supposed to?

“Why are you like this? What’s wrong?” Minho asked. Chan looked at him with narrowed eyes which shortly after opened wide as another wave of pain washed over him.

“W-Why? Minho… I have no clue. B-But there isn’t much longer-“ Chan finished his sentence with a muffled scream, his chest caving in as he began to heave through the pain.

“I thought that when the curse broke it would be anything but _this,”_ Minho whispered. He held Chan as he quivered, gagging as he began to cough harshly.

“A-are you dying?” Minho asked. His eyes were wide, and reasonably so when he saw the blood on Chan’s palm after he had used it to cover his mouth when he coughed. Chan swallowed, gripping onto Minho’s shirt as another wave of pain broke through his muscles, crunching through bones. Minho was terrified, but he could not move. His body wouldn’t let him.

“Chan talk to me. What is happening to you?”

“The curse is lifting. Glad to see you kept your promise,” Chan smiled.

“I guess Felix kept his too. Can you thank him for me?” Chan asked. Minho smiled painfully. Why did it sound like he wasn’t going to make it?

“He did. We both did. But don’t say that. You can thank him yourself after you’re better okay?” Minho stroked Chan’s hair as he rocked beneath him.

Minho yelped as Chan suddenly roared as the beast begged for one final release. Chan began to snarl, his torso sprouting slender orange fur as Chan’s body weakened even further. Saliva dribbled down Chan’s jaw as he began dry heaving, and Minho could hear every sickening crunch of his bones splintering through the pain. “M-Minho, I think you should stand back now,” Chan said quickly, throwing himself off Minho’s lap and across the room. Fur was now covering every inch of his body except for his head, but Minho assumed it wouldn’t be long until that was consumed too.

He glanced at his watch – two minutes to midnight. When he looked back up Chan was in front of him, except he wasn’t Chan anymore. Chan tackled him to the floor, long tail wrapping around Minho’s ankles and pulling them tight. Chan growled as Minho clawed at its body, doing anything to keep a distance for them. He hoped that all those martial arts classes he took a few years would help him for the next minute. Just one more minute and he might survive this. He _had_ to survive this. The scuffled on the ground, and Minho cried out as he hit the side of Chan’s head, the demon form of it anyway.

Chan raised his arm and his claws came crashing down over Minho’s chest. There was nothing familiar left in Chan’s eyes – they were replaced by fiery embers that begged for Minho’s blood. Minho felt the cuts on his chest split as he braced his arms against Chan’s chest, a weak attempt at keeping the demon form at bay. His jaw snapped the air in between them, slender and sharp fangs barely centimetres from Minho’s heart.

“Chan please, you’re going to make it!” Minho cried as he was pinned to the floor. Just when he thought he was going to die, when Chan’s fangs bit into his chest, time slowed and came to a halt. Minho felt his body burn, pins and needles poking against his skin from the inside.

_What the fuck…_

Chan’s beast form slowly shifted back to human, an orange glow escaping from his mouth as his body slowly slumped against Minho’s chest.

Minho finally had his answer; a Gumiho can never truly escape its curse. Once cursed, it was only right for your curse to be continued through other means. Minho realise he was naïve. That no amount of research could have prepared him for this moment. Minho was staring fate in the face and couldn’t do anything but accept it.

Everything went red. Everything burned, everything twisted and contorted. He could hear someone calling his name, grabbing at his arms and trying to pull him out of it. Chan blurred into his vision, his face pale, and eyes sunken.

“Chan,” Minho began. He grounded himself, felt the floor beneath him.

Chan held Minho’s face in his palms, fingers tight against the side of his cheeks.

“What?” Chan whispered.

“Minho are you okay?”

His eyes were glistening yet failing to produce any tears. Realisation dawned on Chan’s face as he felt something sharp press against his shoulder blades and something wet begin to roll down his lower back. So, _this_ is how Minho and Felix felt when he did this to them. He can finally feel every little ounce of fear and terror lock his body into place, his heart thumping in his throat. He felt the air grow warm and his chest grow heavy as he suffocated on the energy that began to spread throughout the room. Minho’s lips began to curve downward, his eyes widening with terror. There was something else there though – sorrow, guilt, and was that… _desire?_

Minho coughed and as his lips separated, he felt his teeth melt away as a row of fangs pounced out through his gums. Chan was frozen in time, unable to make his limbs move, unable to do anything but stare at the boy in front of him in shock. Chan was supposed to be free and Minho was supposed to be innocent. Chan began to sob as Minho released his claws from Chan’s back and dug into his waist; a failed attempt at a hug at grounding himself from the unimaginable emotions that Chan knew would be throbbing throughout his veins.

Minho’s voice wobbled as he struggled with his new form, a guttural growl escaping as he finally spoke.

“Chan, I’m hungry.”

**Author's Note:**

> thankyou for finishing this piece. it has taken up a lot of my time and let me explore dark fic and horror elements in a way i haven't been able to in the past. id' love to hear your perspectives on Chan and the beast (Gumiho), his battle with the curse and why you think it was transferred to Minho at the end. Also, why did Felix keep his promise? What does that have to do with anything... i'm very curious to hear your theories and opinions.
> 
> if you did enjoy this, feel free to kudos and comment - the amount this means to me is more than I could ever describe, and im forever thankful for those who support my work and encourage me ♡
> 
> links to my socials:  
> [1\. twitter](https://twitter.com/hyvnchns) if anyone would like to follow for updates, and sneak peeks on wips and such, or even just to scream and cry over skz  
> [2\. cc](https://curiouscat.qa/hyvnchns) if you prefer anonymity! and i also take requests :)


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